I managed to whip myself into a froth over the purchase of a new rod. It was a self inflicted wound so I have only myself to blame, TC didn’t help much with his scholarly work on the resurgence of fiberglass – I was feeling “retro” anyway’s, all he did was fan the flame.
My second mistake was entertaining the idea seriously – serious enough to take a look at what was available, and then glancing down at the $#%@& price tag… Sweet Jesus…
If I was to dump $700 on something, I would be wiping it daily with the sleeve of a clean shirt, I would yell at a dog that got near it, and I’d consider striking a small child if they got milk-breath in proximity.
So much for graphite.
Those fiberglass rods sounded sweet, so I looked up the vendors TC mentioned and gazed fondly at their product, then glanced downward at the &%#@! price tag … Sweet Mother of God…
The only “fiber” in my “glass” will be Metamucil.
I built all my own rods as a young lad – money was tight and blanks were cheap, it added to the whole “roll your own” mystique; you tied your own flies, built the rod, and knotted together a leader; it was a rite of passage, and proof of your dedication. Thirty years later with a steady job and I’m still in the same boat – what’s wrong here?
The “elitism” thing has never been apparent in fly fishermen I meet – there are a few notable exceptions, but in large part the fly fishing community is friendly, hellishly opinionated, frequently misguided, insufferable in a social setting, but rarely snooty or elitist.
Is the root cause the vendor community and the usurious prices they charge for our tackle – leaving the common fellow to gasp in shock and damning us all as “rich guys” and pricks?
Tackle has me gasping – who in hell decided I needed Titanium in order to fish?
Bamboo rods required skilled artisans that spent decades learning the intricacies of cane and tapers, the advent of the Industrial Revolution shoved all them geezers to the side, and spat rods for everyone – mass production, reducing the man hours per rod and yielding a lower price point.
That’s still true today. Metal mandrels are wrapped with carbon film, heat shrink tape applied, and the result baked to completion. It’s the “McRod” – some fellow hits the “Crap Rods” button on a roomful of machinery and some other fellow catches them as they’re expelled from some mechanical bowel, they’re sanded, dipped, dried, and hung in a “clean” room.
It’s still a fast taper in Harm’s Way, meant to precede us through the brush, tossed into a pickup, and leaned against a pine tree while in camp. I can see my way to do that with $200, but not with a rig costing nearly $1300 with reel attached.
That violinist understands after parking his arse on a million dollar violin, … at least he had the good sense not to carry around a Stradivarius.
I’ve never heard a carpenter lust after the $600 hammers they sell to the Pentagon, so why is it we lust after this stuff?
If it’s ostentatious we’re looking for – I’m going the Chihuahua route; a hairless rat-dog clutched tightly to my vest as I scour the fast water, a good trainer coupled with my ability to throw a tight spiral and it’s a hell of a fishing tool.
Madison Avenue is full of sharp fellows that know physics and chemistry were our weakness in school, so they plague us with terms like “NTiQ” – nano-titanium quartz. We oblige them by not looking it up to learn that nano-titanium powder, is among other things, a disinfectant, and you can call a fellow to quartz your garage floor with the same resin.
…but in a new flyrod … it’s the penultimate awesomenality* and you gotta have it.
The angling press deserts us when we need them most – to give an impartial review of new tackle, instead they obligingly regurge the copy provided with the “free” rod, and are convinced it’s cool because they got one..
… has gone out of their way to apply an exotic material, a fine layer to Quartz, that adds durability to withstand saltwater conditions, and adds the incredible power needed to play tug-a-war with the mammoth fish that reside in the ocean.
The Quartz adds power to the rod? … this from the guy that lit the Chem lab on fire?
I’m not old enough to mean it when I mention the “good old days” – but I know enough to prefer waving a 9 foot semiconductor in a lightning storm – to a full conductor compliments of Titanium.
Despite all the semi-scientific evidence cited, the final rub was knowing the Bush stimulus package will deliver a maximum of $600, enough to get a nice rod off of EBay, but it’s shy of contemporary gear. If we can restart the entire economy with that – imagine the industrial juggernaut we’d unleash if everyone bought a new rod.
You think maybe these damn things cost too much?
* Props to Buster Wants To Fish for the use of his prose.
Technorati Tags: fishing tackle, fly rods, expensive, Old Guy rant
And here I was thinking I’m the only one not willing (or able) to shell out for such things.
Great rant. Good luck with your “fiber” issues.
We ain’t out of the woods yet, it appears you and I are the only fellows not living on a trust fund.
I’m cheap. The most I’ve ever paid for a rod was maybe $150 (I think considerably less). But then I live only an hours drive from the St. Croix factory second store and I haunt the clearance sections of the various on-line merchants. But the honest truth is that it is hard to find a modern rod that won’t cast reasonably well. Even the lowest priced models on the market will do what you ask them to, if you ask politely.
Add me to the stingy contingent.
After you buy that $700 rod, there is barely enough left to afford those waders that include a zipper.
So why exactly were you interested in purchasing a new rod? Did you break an old one? Are you planning a saltwater trip?
Just curious.
Are you suggesting the mainstream angling press is largely providing a PR service to the manufacturers — that those glowing reviews might not be impartial??
Naw, say it ain’t so. Can’t be. Couldn’t…
SMJ – I have what appears as a ferrule crack on my 7 weight, visible only on the interior of the rod, it looks mighty suspicious.
I have scored a replacement on EBay, the experience will be relayed shortly ..
According to the 2006 Outdoor Industry Foundation Recreation Participation Study, 54% of Fly Fisherman (16 yrs or older) make it to the water less than 3 times per year. Just 19% (I fall in this category) make it to the water 3 to 6 times per year.
Not much time to enjoy the benefits of a top-of-the-line rod and reel.
Anybody want to share?
Maybe if we pool our money, we could buy one really expensive outfit and alternate weekends pretending we were rich like Warren Buffett. Six guys, each taking three trips, means the rod only comes out of the closet 18 times per year. On a $1,300.00 purchase, we’d each have to fork over $217.00 (roughly the cost of cheap fiberglass), plus postage, to bask in the warmth of premium gear heaven. That’s just $72 per trip. A little less than a tank of gas for the (insert favorite truck/suv here).
Who’s with me?
That’s a hell of a good idea, a fly rod “timeshare” … we might have to mail this beast to each other, or we can hide it in the bushes if we share the same stream.
I’m in – I won’t even ask for franchise rights.
Maybe we could setup a private database of Geocache coordinates, that pinpoint the location of armored gear lockers, that members could unlock via pre-programmed affinity cards like zip-car. Just put that bad-boy back in the locker at the end of the day.
Marco, I don’t throw the “genius” label around lightly – but you’re flirting with it.
GeoCache flyrod timeshare, you could be a very rich man, all that’s needed is a touch of marketing and you’ll be lunching with William Gates (and be able to afford all your tackle).
Thanks K.
It seems you’ve got the audience, and I’ve got the idea. Any chance we could talk T. Chandler over at “Trout Underground” into helping us out with industry contacts? Maybe he could use his clout with Dunsmuir Rod to get us 4 or 5 custom beauties for the collection.
We could pair them all with $1,800 Ari ‘t Hart reels, and SA’s new $99-a-spool Sharkskin line.
By my way of figurin’ a ratio of 2 or 3 fisherman per rod, each paying in the neighborhood of $70 bucks per month, for an annual subscription membership, should be enough to take us both to ultra-gear heaven. As more anglers join, we add more to the collection.
I’m a marketing guy by profession. I can get a website built with my eyes closed.
Wanna give it the old college try?
Honest opinions welcome.